Blues History
Blues History
from the pages of the BluesNotes
One important part of the Cascade Blues Association's charter is to help educate the public on the history of the blues. Almost every month we publish an article in our monthly newsletter, the BluesNotes, that documents the bygone days of the blues. Those articles are indexed here for your reference and enjoyment.
Guitar Slim
Written by Greg Johnson Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:48
By: Greg Johnson
Article Reprint from the November 1999 BluesNotes
The use of theatrics while performing has been around a long time in Blues music. Some of the earliest reported antics were displayed by Charley Patton in the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta during the 1920s. Patton was known for his lively stage presence, dancing around while he played the guitar between his legs or behind his back. Numerous other artists adapted some form of a stage act throughout the years. Howlin' Wolf had his tail dragging routine. The playful onstage banter of Louis Jordan and his band made them a top draw that helped find their way onto film. Showmanship certainly came to the forefront in the guise of Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy as they roared across the large festival and stadium stages. But, without question, the unsurpassed true master of this art form was Guitar Slim. An attention loving Bluesman who roared through the clubs of New Orleans during the 1950s, only to pass on at a much too early age.
Flamboyance was the nature of Guitar Slim. He was known to wear specially-tailored, brightly colored suits with shoes and dyed hair to match. An assistant would follow him during his shows, carrying up to 350 feet of guitar cord, just in case Slim would decide to walk through the audience without missing a note. On occasion, Slim would ride on the assistant's shoulders. He would sometimes take these strolls outside the club and into the streets, where it was not unusual for him to bring traffic to a halt. It was after witnessing a Guitar Slim performance, that would seal the fate of a young Buddy Guy to decide to make the Blues his living. Guy would state in his autobiography, "Damn Right I've Got The Blues", "When I saw him, I'd made up my mind. I wanted to play like B.B. (King) but act like Guitar Slim." To this day, he still utilizes the stage antics he learned by watching Slim.
Guitar Slim was born Eddie Jones in Greenwood, Mississippi on December 10, 1926. When he was five years old his mother died, and having never known his father, he was sent to Hollandale to be raised by his grandmother on the L. C. Haves plantation. Living there, he learned to make a living working in the cotton fields and plowing behind a mule.
At a young age, Eddie would spend his free time at the local juke joints in Hollandale. He began to sit in with traveling and local bands as a singer and dancer. In fact, his adept skills as a dancer earned him the nickname "Limber Legs." At the age of 18, he was working with a band fronted by Willie Warren when he met his first wife, Virginia Dumas. The marriage was short-lived though, and for half of their coexistence, Eddie was away in the army, including wartime service in the Pacific. Over the following years, Eddie would live with a number of commonlaw wives.
Bandleader Willie Warren was acknowledged as introducing Jones to the guitar. He found further influence from the Delta slide legend Robert Nighthawk, who occasionally traveled through Hollandale. Despite the wealth of Blues guitarists in Mississippi, Jones gained his true love for the instrument from the sounds he heard coming out of Texas, in particular, T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. And it would be Gatemouth's "Boogie Rambler" that he would use as his theme song for several years.
By 1950, Eddie Jones had already developed his wild stage act and had relocated to New Orleans. He took up the name Guitar Slim and began to experiment with newer guitar sounds that included distorted overtones (a full decade before Jimi Hendrix). He had the chance to record for the Imperial label in 1951, cutting four songs, including "Bad Luck Is On Me", but they were unsuccessful. Next, he tried the Nashville-based Bullet label in 1952, and enjoyed a mild regional hit with the single, "Feeling Sad". This brought attention from both the Atlantic and Specialty labels in 1953, who each tried to add him to their rosters. But, through the persuasion of label boss, Art Rupe and A&R man, Johnny Vincent, Slim signed with Specialty and his first recording with them would became his calling card for the remainder of his life.
"The Things That I Used To Do" was engineered by the New Orleans legend Cosimo Matassa and featured Lloyd Lambert's band backing him up with special guest Ray Charles filling in on the piano. Guitarist Earl King claims that Slim said the song came to him in a dream, where a devil and angel fought each other with their own sets of lyrics. Of course, being a Blues song, the devil's lyrics had won out. Art Rupe hated the song when he first heard it, but released it as a single anyway. It would ride the R&B charts for 21 weeks, six at Number One, and would sell over a million copies. It also placed Guitar Slim on the road for a national tour, where he sold out major venues like the Howard in Washington, D.C. and a week-long gig at New York's famed Apollo. This remarkable feat at the Apollo was unmatched by all other top performers of the day, including Sammy Davis Jr. It is interesting to note that at the beginning of this tour, Slim was involved in an automobile accident involving alcohol and would miss a month. It was a common practice with some labels to use other performers in place of the headliners to an unsuspecting audience in order to keep the music in the forefront. In Slim's absence, Earl King substituted during this period. (Specialty would do this again later in the decade for Huey "Piano" Smith who disliked touring, replacing him with James Booker at the time.) At the end of his tour, Slim decided to settle into a milder atmosphere and moved to Thibodeaux, Louisiana, in the heart of the Cajun country.
He would continue to write and record songs for Specialty for another two years. Despite strong singles like "Sufferin' mind" and "The Story Of My Life", sales could not match the success Of "The Things That I Used To Do" and Art Rupe decided to release Slim from his contract. He quickly signed with the Atco label, a subsidiary of Atlantic, who had tried unsuccessfully to sign him in 1952. His writing skills had not diminished and over the next two years, he charted four more times, including the song, "It Hurts To Love Someone" and "Down Through The Years".
Throughout his career, Guitar Slim had led a hard life that was marred by heavy drinking. Earl King noted that he was drinking "a pint of gin and chasing it with a fifth of black port every day." He was also a notorious womanizer, reportedly with a new female companion every night. In early 1959, the band set out for an East Coast tour despite the problems that he was encountering with his breathing as a result of his alcohol problem. On February 6th, the band was in Rochester, New York, when Slim became violently ill. He was told by a local doctor that he needed to give up drinking. The next day in New York City, the band had to carry an incapacitated Guitar Slim to his hotel room. At the time they believed he was just drunk, but later when they could not revive him a doctor was called. But, it was too late. Guitar Slim had died of bronchial pneumonia, a condition worsened by his drinking. He was just 32 years old. Sadly, his death was overshadowed by the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper only four days earlier. His body was returned to Thibodeaux, where he was buried in an unmarked grave with his guitar.
Ironically, the final session recorded by Guitar Slim for Atco, would be the single "If I Had My Life To Live Over" b/w "When There's No Way Out". He was survived by a number of children from his various female companions. One of those children is Rodney Armstrong, who has followed in his father's footsteps, performing in New Orleans under the moniker Guitar Slim, Jr. "The Things I Used To Do" still remains a strong Blues standard and is required material for any bar band trying to make a name for themselves. It has been honored by The Blues Foundation as a Classic of Blues Recording in their Hall of Fame. Due to his unfortunate early demise, the world will never know how great Guitar Slim may have been. Those who knew him have no doubt of his greatness. Earl King places him on the same scale as B.B. King and Ray Charles. You need look no further than those who have named him as a major influence to see the truth: Albert Collins, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons are only a handful of this countless number.
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Frank Frost - R.I.P.
Written by Greg Johnson Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:47
By: Greg Johnson
Article Reprint from the November 1999 BluesNotes
Frank Frost approached the microphone Friday, October 8th on the Main Stage of the King Biscuit Blues Festival in obvious discomfort. The 63 year old Blues musician had been suffering for many years with a number of illnesses. Though in poor health then, he went on with the set, perhaps with a premonition that this may be his farewell performance. His longtime friend and partner of 45 years, drummer Sam Carr, could see that Frost was having trouble. But, the determination of his friend was too strong to yield to and the drummer openly wept for him as he continued to play along.
Four days later, Frank Frost succumbed to heart failure at his home on the street that had been named for him in a dedication at the Festival one year earlier.
He was born on April 15, 1936, as Frank Ottis Frost, in Auvergne, Arkansas. His first exposure to music came as a young child when he learned to play the piano for the choirs in his family's church. At the age of 15, he moved to St. Louis, where he teamed with harmonica player, Little Willie Foster and began to learn both the harp and the guitar. While with Foster, Frost met Sam Carr, the son of the legendary Delta guitarist, Robert Nighthawk. The two became fast friends and decided to put their own band together in 1954, a venture that was short-lived at the time as they soon took on the role of backing harmonica great, Sonny Boy Williamson. In 1959, the two left Williamson and headed to Mississippi, once again to form their own band. Three years later, they hooked up with guitarist, Big Jack Johnson and began to call themselves Frank Frost and The Nighthawks.
The trio caught the attention of Sun Records owner Sam Phillips. He brought them to Memphis in 1962 and they put together their first recording "Big Boss Man!" for his newly created Phillips International label. Three years later, they were in Nashville, working with Elvis Presley's guitarist, Scotty Moore for yet another LP on the Jewel label that saw a minor hit single for them with "My Back Scratcher" (a take-off on the Slim Harpo song, "Baby Scratch My Back").
The group disbanded in 1975, but reunited again in 1979 with the new name The Jelly Roll Kings. Under this name, they became the first artists to record for the newly founded Earwig Records, releasing "Rockin' The Juke Joint Down" that same year. The band thrived over the next two decades as the preeminent example of modern Delta Blues. Big Jack Johnson eventually left to pursue a solo career, but Frost and Carr continued under the name, adding guitarist Fred James to the mix.
Frost would also have a successful solo career. He released several albums under his own name including the acclaimed, "Deep Blues" in 1992. He could also be seen in a commercial for presidential candidate Bill Clinton, as well as a short performance in the film, "Crossroads". The Jelly Roll Kings were also featured on the soundtrack for the Blues documentary "Deep Blues".
For many of the past few years, Frank Frost's health had been failing. A staunch supporter of the Sonny Boy Blues Society of Helena, Arkansas, Frost was a recipient of the medical support that their Blues Aid relief program had been designed for.
A funeral was held on Sunday, October 17th at the Malco Theater in Helena, followed by a Blues jam in tribute of his memory.
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Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes
Written by Greg Johnson Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:47
By: Greg Johnson
Article Reprint from the November 1999 BluesNotes
It is a true sign of personal love for a musician's craft when he cares more for the enjoyment of his audience than his own personal gain. A desire to give his all with every performance to ensure that any witness to his show goes away with a feeling that they have received their money's worth and that the individual performer has given them their all. This was the lifetime philosophy of Roosevelt "Booba" (pronounced "Booby") Barnes, a seldom recorded artist whose shows were of legendary status throughout the Mississippi Delta and in Chicago.
Roosevelt Melvin Barnes was born in the town of Longwood, Mississippi, about 18 miles outside of Greenville, on September 25, 1936. His family worked in the local cotton fields, as well as raising hogs. A young Roosevelt had even lost a portion of one finger when a hog bit him while he and his father attempted to ring the animal's nose. His older brother, Leroy, served time in the military and also played professional baseball. While he played ball in the winter leagues of South America, Leroy would send home harmonicas to his brother. Roosevelt became infatuated with the instrument and soon his participation in the fields became marred as he spent his time dancing and playing between the rows. These actions earned him his nickname "Booba" when his brother claimed that he was "worse than a booby trap."
When Booba was about 13 years old, he began to frequent the streets of Greenville and Belzoni, where he came into contact with the local Blues musicians. Harp players like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), as well as guitarist Elmore James, began to impress their skills on him. Barnes would attempt to imitate the style of Williamson during these early years, but it was when he made the acquaintance of Howlin' Wolf that he met the influence that would remain with him the rest of his life. The two became close friends and many who heard Booba sing were mesmerized at how close he could sound like his mentor. Even Wolf made the acknowledgement and called Barnes "Little Wolf".
At the age of 17, Barnes decided to seek his fortune as a Blues musician and became a regular performer in the clubs on Greenville's famed Nelson Street. Here he would play in local bands with Charlie Booker, Bill Wallace and The Jones Brothers, led by his brother-in-law, Little Jerry Jones. This music would consist mostly of B.B. King numbers, whose music was sweeping the area by storm at the time. Barnes was already building upon his playful reputation as he began wearing brightly colored suits while swinging from the rafters playing harp at one Greenville club.
In 1958, Barnes moved to St. Louis where his brother was playing for the Cardinals. During this time, the city's Blues scene was dominated by Albert King and Little Milton, and occasionally Barnes found himself being asked to sit in with them. But, he became frustrated when he could not find a guitarist that could play the patterns he desired, so he took up the instrument himself. Not wishing to copy the styles of any other artist, he created a sound that came directly from his heart. As a guitarist, his playful antics increased as he was soon duck-walking, playing with his teeth, between his legs and even lying on his back.
The stay in St. Louis was short-lived though, and he returned to Greenville in the early 1960s. When he returned, the harmonica once again became his primary instrument. Soon he was working with guitarist Smokey Wilson and he would eventually form his own group, The Swinging Gold Coasters.
The lure of Chicago would occasionally beckon for Booba and he made several attempts to make it in the city. He traveled there in 1963 and made some recordings with The Jones Brothers, but sadly these sides have never been released. While there, Little Jerry Jones introduced Booba to his childhood hero Little Walter, and he asked Walter to allow Booba to sit in for a number. Walter was skeptical, but after one listen to Barnes on the harmonica he became convinced of his talent and would even go on to call Booba his "son." In 1968, Barnes broke up The Swinging Gold Coasters and moved to Chicago where he worked as a popular performer and sought-after sideman.
Returning to Greenville in 197 1, he played in a number of clubs over the years, sometimes alongside guitarist T-Model Ford. In 1985, he purchased a former used furniture store on Nelson Street and converted it into his own club which he called The Playboy Club. Soon Barnes and the house-band, The Playboys, became a well known attraction and found requests to play throughout the South, Midwest and East Coast.
In 1990, Booba was given the opportunity to record his first and only full-length LP, "The Heartbroken Man". Released by Rooster Blues, the debut was the first Blues recording by a Mississippi artist on the fledgling label. It was well-received by critics and fans alike, and Roosevelt soon found himself in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. Also in 1990, Blues journalist Robert Palmer began filming his documentary "Deep Blues" and captured Barnes and The Playboys live in The Playboy Club. Three numbers were also included in the film's soundtrack and would prove to be the final releases by Barnes available to the market.
Booba Barnes had once again relocated to Chicago in the early 1990s so he could be more accessible to the venues demanding his presence. In 1995, he was diagnosed with severe lung cancer and the disease quickly sapped him of his energy. After fighting the illness for a year, Roosevelt Barnes died in a Chicago nursing home on April 2, 1996.
Robert Palmer described Booba in his liner notes to "Deep Blues": "To call him a flamboyant showman would be an understatement. He twists, he turns, he drops to his knees, he plays one-handed, and he picks more guitar with his teeth and tongue than many more celebrated Bluesmen who use their fingers." Many of his contemporaries believed that Booba may have even been able to out-perform his mentor Howlin' Wolf in the end. But, it was never Barnes' desire to do any more than satisfy his fans. Despite never receiving the world-wide recognition of his heroes, Barnes always kept his professional demeanor and never disappointed an audience.
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Big Maceo Merriweather
Written by Greg Johnson Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:46
By: Greg Johnson
Article Reprint from the January 2000 BluesNotes
When looking back at the Blues musicians of the pre-war era and the years immediately following, it is spellbinding to realize what a strong impact some of these musicians had on future players. Yet, for many, their recorded output consists of next to nothing. For example, the collected solo works of guitarist Willie Brown, who, along with Son House was one of the prime influences on a young Robert Johnson, amounts to only three sides. Delta guitar master, Tommy Johnson cut just 12 songs; Frank Stokes, 38; Ishman Bracey, 23; and Robert Johnson himself changed the sound of the world drastically with only 29 legendary recordings. Big Maceo Merriweather belongs in this elite company. Though his recording career only spanned the years 1941-1946, he produced 28 numbers that would forever change the way that the piano would be played by Blues artists.
Major (Maceo is a derision of the name) Merriweather was born on the outskirts of Atlanta on March 31, 1905 on his family's farm, one of 11 children. As he grew older he would eventually stand well over six-feet and weigh more than 250 pounds, which garnered his nickname "Big." In 1920, the family moved to the College Park section of town and the young Major developed an affinity for the piano. He began working the cafes and honky tonks located on Harvard Street, as well as playing at house rent parties and fish fries throughout the city. In 1924, at the age of 19, Merriweather's family relocated once again. This time to Detroit where an older brother was living and the promise of better jobs was more affluent. Merriweather took a job with Ford, but still made time to play the occasional house party, as well as the clubs along Hastings Street.
Hattie Spruel was an ambitious woman and first met Maceo when she hired him to play for parties in her home. They were soon married and Hattie went to work to make a name for her new husband. The couple moved to Chicago in 1941, where she made the acquaintance of prominent guitarists Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red. She introduced them to Maceo and the two were impressed with his skills. They brought him to the attention of RCA's master producer, Lester Melrose, and within just a few weeks Maceo was recording for the famed Bluebird label.
The first session would prove to be extremely fruitful for Merriweather. He recorded a total of 14 sides, with the first single becoming the most important of his career: "Worried Life Blues". Like many other songs of the day, "Worried Life Blues" was borrowed from an earlier recording by Sleepy John Estes titled "Someday Baby". The practice of using established musical patterns and even lyrics was fairly common. Perhaps to easily stress this point, look no further than the repertoire of Robert Johnson. Many of his compositions were reworkings of songs by artists like Kokomo Arnold, Son House and Tommy Johnson, among others. "Worried Life Blues" would itself also be modified by Little Walter and Muddy Waters as both "County Jail Blues" and "Trouble No More" a decade later.
Most of the recordings that Maceo made for Bluebird paired him with Tampa Red (including "Worried Life Blues"). Pairing piano players with guitarists had been a successful formula since the early 1930s, when Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell found fame with recordings like "How Long, How Long Blues". Tampa Red also had previously scored repute playing hokum numbers and dozens with keyboardist Thomas A. Dorsey. (Upon the death of his wife, Dorsey turned away from the Blues and went on to become perhaps the greatest of all Gospel composers.) Tampa Red and Big Maceo formed a small group along with a drummer and a bassist, creating a unique new sound that was referred to as "The Bluebird Beat". It would prove to be the first real Chicago-style Blue's combo and a design for most musical groupings of the future, regardless of the genre.
Along with Tampa Red, they would record 16 sides together before the outbreak of World War II. At that time, materials used for making records became scarce and a ban was enacted prohibiting most recording. During these years, Maceo moved back to Detroit, but made frequent return trips to Chicago where he would perform with both Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy on the city's South Side.
Maceo Merriweather had developed his musical style by listening to players like Roosevelt Sykes, Albert Ammons, Meade "Lux " Lewis and especially, Leroy Carr. It was Carr's restrained approach and casual vocals that most impressed him. He took the sounds of the barrelhouse and boogie pianists and added heavier bass patterns with his right hand, often with complete bass flourishes finishing a song. It was a method that proved quite innovative and successful. With this style Merriweather produced a string of popular releases that included numbers like "Chicago Breakdown", "Texas Stomp" and "Rambling Mind Blues."
At the conclusion of the war, Melrose immediately brought his stable of Blues artists back to the studio. Maceo resumed his work with Tampa Red, but would also record four songs with Big Bill Broonzy in 1945. Unfortunately, Big Maceo's career was cut short after he suffered a stroke in 1946 that left him almost completely paralyzed on his right side. Over the next few years, he would attempt to record several more times despite his handicap, but these pieces were only a poor image of his former talent. Occasionally other pianists would play while he sang, and other pursuits found him sharing the keyboards with a second performer working the right side of the piano for him. Among the artists who filled this role would be Eddie Boyd in 1947 for sides done for Victor and Johnny Jones in 1949 for Specialty. Another pianist to occupy this spot would be Otis Spann, who idolized Big Maceo. He would also sometimes fill in for the elder musician for gigs whenever Maceo was unable to perform. All three of these musicians went on to become headliners on the Chicago Blues scene, incorporating their lessons learned at the side of Big Maceo. Spann would become the most prominent of all the Chicago Blues pianists identified by the influence of Merriweather.
Big Maceo retired from playing in 1949 following yet another stroke. Poor health and a lifetime of heavy drinking eventually led to a fatal heart attack. He died on February 23, 1953 in Chicago. His body was returned to his home in Detroit for burial five days later.
Big Maceo Merriweather was a rising star whose time was dramatically taken from him much too early. His legacy continues though and may be heard in the playing of most Blues pianists today. "Worried Life Blues" also keeps his flame alive; artists such as Eric Clapton, have made the song a staple of their live repertoires. It as become one of those standards that almost every band worth a lick must know, and has been forever immortalized by The Blues Foundation as an entry within its Hall of Fame.
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Big Walter Horton
Written by Greg Johnson Tuesday, 30 June 2009 20:45
By: Greg Johnson
Article Reprint from the February 2000 BluesNotes
When the landmark recordings "Chicago / The Blues / Today!" were released in the mid-1960s, it was an enlightening experience for those listeners outside of the Chicago area. For many, this was a chance to hear that city's wonderful Blues music for the first time. Names such as Junior Wells, Otis Rush and James Cotton had recognition for some outsiders, while other musicians offered exciting new sounds. Perhaps the biggest impact of this series came about with "Volume 3", as a dynamic force was unleashed in the persona of harmonica player, Big Walter Horton. His presence was forefront throughout the third LP, despite the majority of this disc being focused on Johnny Young and Johnny Shines. Horton was no stranger to the Blues community. His story goes back several decades, stretching a direct line from Memphis to the Windy City. He played with the genre's greatest names and left an impact forever meshed with musicians plying the harmonica trade ever since.
Born in Horn Lake, Mississippi, on April 6, 1918, Walter taught himself to play the harmonica by the age of five, shortly after his family had moved to Memphis. Even before he was a teenager, Walter was in contact with the city's famed Blues musicians, playing in Handy Park with such luminaries as Hammie Nixon, Frank Stokes and Honeyboy Edwards. By the late 1920s, Walter was performing regularly with the Memphis Jug Band that featured guitarist Charley Burse and harmonica ace Will Shade. It was even suggested that Walter had recorded with them at the age of 9. (Many historians claim that Walter also appeared on the group's 1931 recording, "Kansas City Blues".) He also had began touring throughout the Deep South with Ma Rainey, Big Joe Williams and Floyd Jones.
Charlie Musselwhite: "Horton was playing around Memphis early in the game. Will Shade had the Memphis Jug Band, and he was a good harp player, but Walter really put the power into it. He really made the way for all those that came after him."
Walter left Memphis for a short time in the mid-1930s and settled briefly in Chicago in 1938. It was during this stay in the Windy City that Walter first experimented using amplification on his harmonica. When he brought this sound back to Memphis, it quickly caught the attention of fellow harp players, Little Walter Jacobs and Rice Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II).
Bob Corritore: "Walter told me that he taught Little Walter how to play. 'He started getting popular usin' my style, so I had to create me a whole new style.' "
Horton recorded with the locally renowned dwarf guitarist and vocalist, Charlie "Little Buddy" Doyle for the Columbia label in 1939. But, he decided to step away from his musical career in 1940 due to poor health. He would accept work in a variety of jobs: cab driver, cook at the Peabody Hotel, whatever work could be had.
Paul deLay: "Walter told me that he had worked for a white undertaker while living in Memphis. He told me in a very serious tone, 'Ten minutes after you die, everybody turns their natural color. Which is black.' He really was kind of a character."
By 1948, Walter was once again playing the Blues in Memphis. He spent time playing with a young guitarist named B.B. King and made regular broadcasts from the famed WDIA radio station. During this period, Horton was approached by Sam Phillips and asked if he would like to record at his Memphis Recording Studio (later to be named Sun Records). Over the next two years, Walter recorded several sides for Phillips under the name "Mumbles," a moniker that he despised. Phillips in turn sold the singles to Modern Records for distribution and among the numbers placed on disc were, "Little Boy Blue", "Now Tell Me Baby", "Have A Good Time" and "Need My Baby".
In 1952, Walter appeared for the first time on sides recorded with his childhood friend, guitarist Johnny Shines, for the JOB label. Walter and Shines would record many times throughout their careers. Allowed to expound on his harmonica prowess, these sides contained some of Walter's best work of the period.
Guitarist, Eddie Taylor, who had played with Horton frequently in Memphis, contacted Horton in 1952 and invited him to join Jimmy Reed's band in Chicago. A couple of weeks after arriving, Walter was asked to replace Junior Wells in the Muddy Waters Band (Wells, who had recently taken Little Walter's spot, had been drafted into the Army). In January 1953, the Muddy Waters Band with Jimmy Rogers, Willie Nix and Walter Horton entered Chess Studios and recorded four sides. This was an unusual move for Chess at the time, as Muddy's band was seldom allowed to record with any harp player other than Little Walter. Horton remained with Muddy for most of 1953, but problems with alcohol and poor health began to take its toll and Walter started arriving late to, or missing, gigs altogether. Muddy was suspicious about these missed commitments and later found that Walter had been playing solo shows on many of these occasions. Walter was promptly fired from the band.
Bob Corritore: "Walter would drink quite a bit, but it usually wouldn't affect his playing. A few times I saw him over the line, but even then, his tone was unbelievable, though he couldn't play with the same ornate detail."
Walter had returned to Memphis by the end of 1953 and once again took up with Sam Phillips. Along with guitarist Jimmy DeBerry as his only accompanist, he cut the harmonica tour de force "Easy". A reworking of Ivory Joe Hunter's popular tune, "Since I Met You Baby", the instrumental would become one of Horton's signature pieces.
Walter was back in Chicago the next year, though, where he continued on his solo path. Recording for the States label, he released another strong single titled "Hard Headed Woman".
Tom Ball: "One evening in December 1966, 1 went to the Ash Grove in Los Angeles to see slide guitarist J. B. Hutto and his Hawks. Midway through the first set, I found myself transfixed not by Hutto, but by the tall, lanky, angular harp player who played with undreamed of eloquence. This was my introduction to Big Walter Horton. I went to see him two nights in a row and on the second night, I asked if he still played "Hard Hearted Woman". Walter vehemently denied ever having recorded or even heard of the song, and became visibly angry and upset. About an hour later he played a masterful, 15-minute version."
Jimmy Rogers had left Muddy Waters' band in 1954 to pursue his own solo career and Walter joined his new group. In 1956, Jimmy Rogers recorded his masterpiece "Walking By Myself" at Chess Studios. The song centered around an engaging shuffle by Horton. It would be Rogers' highest charting single of his career and would be recognized as possibly Walter's best-known work as a sideman.
Pat "Lamont" Hayes: "Big Walter Horton has always been one of the biggest influences of mine. The first tune I really learned how to play was "Walking By Myself".
At the end of the 1950s, bassist and producer Willie Dixon took Walter under his wing, utilizing his enormous harmonica talents on sessions for the Cobra, Chess and Jewel labels. Walter worked with many of Chicago's best musicians: J. B. Hutto, Johnny Young, George Wild Child " Butler and Otis Rush (Horton can be heard on Rush's classic "I Can't Quit You Baby"). Dixon also revived Walter's earlier Modern singles, "Have A Good Time", and "Need My Baby", and included him in his legendary All Star tours of the United States and Europe throughout the 1960s and '70s.
George "Wild Child" Butler: "Willie Dixon had Big Walter and me on sessions (together) because he wanted to hear what would happen, because we didn't sound alike. We both needed money, so Walter asked me if he could do the sessions because he needed some change. Even Willie Dixon did some humming on the sessions. But, the record company sent a letter to Willie not to put anybody else singing or playing harp on a session with me. Big Walter was one of the greatest harp players and a very good friend."
In 1964, Walter Horton's career appeared to be taking an upswing. Chess released his first solo album titled "The Soul Of Blues Harmonica", featuring famed sidemen Buddy Guy (guitar), Jack Myers (bass), Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (drums) and Willie Dixon (vocals). This was followed three years later with his appearance on "Chicago / The Blues / Today Volume 3", and another strong release with Johnny Young titled "Chicago Blues" the next year. But, despite the seeming success, Walter Horton continued to live a simple existence in a small South Side apartment. And, alcohol still played heavily with his lifestyle.
Bob Corritore: "One time I went to Walter's apartment to pick him up. It was a broken down rise made of wood and it appeared that he had a lot of family living there."
Peter "Madcat" Ruth: I took three lessons from Walter at his apartment in 1967 and 1968. When I met him in 1966 he had already been playing for 47 years. His tone was so huge and his phrasing so deep! He was an amazing harmonica player and a huge inspiration to me. His playing was very tasteful. He was kind of quiet. I think he was illiterate. He was dirt poor and a heavy drinker which took its toll on his life."
For many years, Maxwell Street had been a haven for Blues musicians busking for the crowds at its huge weekend market. Many of the greatest performers of the city spent time here playing for change, and Walter Horton was no exception. Joining some of Chicago's best, ranging from Johnny Young to Hound Dog Taylor, Walter's playing influenced a number of up-and-coming harp players with his amazing tone and incredible bag of tricks.
Gary Primich: "I used to play Maxwell Street every Sunday. Occasionally, Walter would perform down the street from us with Homesick James, Floyd Jones and Playboy Venson. He would come down to where I was playing and would just stand there and stare, to intimidate the young harmonica punk. It was pretty humbling to have my hero standing in front of me."
Bob Corritore: "I was watching Walter play on Maxwell Street, with guitarist Rich Molina and Playboy Venson on drums, and Walter performed a solo through his nose. He held the harmonica and mic up to one nostril with one hand and closed his other nostril with one finger. The notes he could play were limited, the tone was amazing! He was getting a deep vibrato and a swooping tone."
Over the remaining years of his life, Big Walter Horton would record numerous sides as both a solo performer and a session sideman. He would find himself teamed with luminaries like Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Shines, Ronnie Earl, and with Carey Bell for an astonishing release for Alligator Records in 1973. In late 1977, Walter received a call from guitarist Johnny Winter who was reviving the career of Muddy Waters with Grammy-winning success. Twenty-three years following his firing from the Muddy Waters Band, Walter was once again recording with the master. The results were six cuts on the Blue Sky release "I'm Ready". This album would also reunite him with guitarist Jimmy Rogers and allowed him to play harmonica duets with his longtime friend, Jerry Portnoy.
Jerry Portnoy: "We hung out a lot together. I used to go over to his house with a bottle of VO, where we'd drink and I'd try to get him to play for me. I just loved his sound. He had the most beautiful sound. To me, that is what harmonica playing is all about. I saw Walter play on every kind of sound system. I saw him play acoustic, on a variety of amplifiers, with a variety of mics and PAs. It didn't matter. When he played, it sounded great and you knew that it was Big Walter."
Walter was not an easy person to understand if he did not know you. He could come across as gruff and stand-offish. But, in reality, Walter was a shy and good-natured individual who was willing to share his knowledge with younger musicians. But, he was also very playful and liked to place them on the spot onstage.
Paul deLay: "When I first met him, he was doin' this real gruff act and he had me convinced. But, he couldn't keep it up for long and it was easy to wear him down. He showed me how he played harp out of one side of his mouth and breathed out of the other. He showed me while he was playing. It looked like a Popeye cartoon."
Jerry Portnoy: "Walter had kind of a crusty exterior. If he didn't know you he could be kinda tough on you. But, it didn't go very deep. You were okay if you spent some time with him. But, occasionally he'd pull some funny stuff. He'd call you to sit in and as you were getting set to play, he'd change keys in the middle of a song, so you'd be standing there with the wrong harp. He was kind of a strange guy, but I loved him."
Big Walter Horton made a brief cameo appearance in the movie "The Blues Brothers", playing on a Chicago street with John Lee Hooker in 1980. A nice recording on Blind Pig, "Fine Cuts", was released in 1979 and a live LP with Ronnie Earl, "Little Boy Blue", came out in 1980. These would be the last efforts Horton would release. He died December 8, 1981 in Chicago, and was inducted into The Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame the following year.
Though Walter Horton may not be as well known to many Blues fans as his contemporaries, he is considered at the top of his field by his peers. Bruce Iglauer in the liner notes to the Alligator release, "Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell", named Walter as one of the "four great creative geniuses of modern Blues harmonica." The other three were Little Walter and the two Sonny Boy Williamsons. It is his inimitable tone and power that has influenced harmonica players during his lifetime, as well as those who never met him that will continue to carry the legend of Big Walter Horton.
Adam Gussow: "A guy who had tremendously powerful chops and could dig way deep on the three hole draw, nailing the bluesiest blue third every time. The word that comes to mind is 'Commitment.' When Big Walter played a note, you knew he meant it. It stayed played. He rattled the reeds!"
Li'l Ronnie Owens: "When you speak of Walter Horton, the first thing you think of is his tone, that big, fat tone. Tone is the most important thing to have, tone and taste, that's Walter Horton. He could flat play his ass off! I'm still learning from Walter Horton."
Charlie Musselwhite: "When Walter was in the right mood, he could be the most ferocious, the most inventive, the most dangerous harp player I ever heard. It's really too bad that hardly anything on record compares with what he could really do."
R. J. Mischo: "Walter had great impact on my playing. He had unbelievable tone and control. He did a lot of tricks . . . played through a glass, his nose, used different hand tonalities and would put a mic up to his throat while he played. He played strong all night on the shows I saw."
Paul deLay: "By far the best harp player I think I've ever heard. What he could do with amplifiers. He could find a good tone, something to work with out of the worst equipment imaginable. The guy couldn't have had bigger, more exaggerated tone. He could play in a more extreme direction than any other guy I've ever heard. It was fantastic, beyond chilling."
Bob Corritore: "I was blessed to have grown up in Chicago and to be very close to its Blues scene. When you saw Big Walter play harmonica, you couldn't help but be touched by his genius. He so effortlessly played the tiny Marine Band with such a wide array of sounds. I remember how impressed I was by the somber, haunting quality of his harmonica. I once asked him how he got such a great sound. He pointed to his hand and said, 'It's all in the wrist.' "
Note: The idea for this article came during a workshop held on the Back Porch Stage at the 1999 Waterfront Blues Festival. Charlie Musselwhite and Paul deLay answered questions from the audience, and when approached on who they felt was their greatest influence, both immediately responded "Big Walter Horton." I would like to thank all the musicians who took the time to respond to my e-mail and phone calls. To Paul deLay and Jerry Portnoy for their lively and lengthy memories. And, especially to Bob Corritore, for his persistence and kindness, and for the beautiful photos of Walter that Bob so graciously supplied, taken by Ed Yescalis and by the late D. Shigley. Big Walter Horton has always remained one of my favorite performers and the stories these artists have relayed to me have brought him so much closer to my heart.
First two photos by Ed Yescalis, third photo (B&W) by D. Shigley; all photos courtesy of Bob Corritore.
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